Free templates
Free templates for novelists and LitRPG authors
Seven templates for keeping a long story straight: a story bible, two stat sheets, an XP curve, a skill tree, a power scaling ladder, and a style guide for status windows. Every one is free, with no paywall and no email required.
For any novel or series
Story bible template
Characters, world and lore, timeline, and a continuity log, with a filled-in example to copy. Works as a series bible too.
Character stat sheet
A one-page character sheet for attributes, level, skills, and inventory. This page also carries a character profile tracker and a character-by-chapter matrix.
For LitRPG and progression fantasy
XP and leveling curve
Set a base cost and an exponent, and get a 100-level XP table, pacing flags, the level your protagonist reaches each book, and priced encounter rewards.
Stat and attribute calculator
Type a level and seven stats, and HP, MP, damage, crit, dodge, and carry weight recalculate from coefficients you control. Includes feel bands for the prose.
Skill tree and evolution tracker
Plan evolution chains before you write stage one, log every skill with its cost and cooldown, and see which abilities the reader thinks are still available.
Power tier and threat ladder
Seven tiers, a roster that grades every antagonist against your protagonist, and a headroom check that warns you before the world runs out of threats.
System notification style guide
Twelve canonical blocks for level-ups, quests, and status effects, a frequency budget, and formatting that survives EPUB, print, and audio.
How they fit together
The four LitRPG workbooks are built to agree with each other. The level bands in the power tier ladder are the same bands as the feel bands in the stat calculator, the XP curve decides which chapter a level lands in, and the skill tree hangs its evolution triggers off those same chapters. Start with whichever problem is loudest; the others will still line up.
None of them ask for an email. Download what is useful, ignore the rest.
When a template stops being enough
Every template here has the same weakness: it is a snapshot, and your draft keeps moving. Clifford is the version that keeps up, tracking each character's stats, skills, and inventory against the chapter that changed them, so a story bible updates itself and the continuity checker can flag prose that disagrees with the record. For progression fiction specifically, see the LitRPG writing software and its stat tracker.
Template FAQ
- Are these really free?
- Yes. No paywall, no signup, and no email required. Download them, keep them, and use them in your own work however you like.
- Do I need Excel or Word?
- No. The spreadsheets open and recalculate in Google Sheets, LibreOffice, and Numbers; the style guide opens in Google Docs and Pages as well as Word.
- Can I use them for a published book?
- Yes, including commercially. They are working documents for your own manuscript, not something you need to credit.
- Which one should I start with?
- For a first novel, the story bible. For a progression series, the XP curve, since it decides the pacing every other sheet is measured against.
Templates go stale. Your draft does not have to.
Clifford keeps your characters and continuity current as you write. Start free.